Life Support
by filmmakersdream
Summary: ‘“By the way, I lo... you, too, Max.” He murmurs in my ear.’ PLEASE R'N'R!


_**AN-** Hey, this is just a random little feel-good fic that I wrote one day. It came to me while I was walking around Costco with my dad, and has absolutely no plot whatsoever. So, yes- fun. PLEASE R'N'R!_

**Disclaimer- James Patterson owns Maximum Ride and it's characters. The only thing I own is this plot, the MR books 1&2 in hardcover, and several gazillion notebooks. -sulks- _Not fair..._** **_I_ _WANNA OWN IGGY_!! –sobs-**

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"Angel, sweetie, I really, _really_ hate when you do that." I whisper to her as we move further into the _huge_ warehouse-like store, my hands gripping the cart. She blinks up at me innocently, looking every bit her name and as if she hadn't just _brainwashed_ the greeters behind us.

"Do what, Max?" She asks, her head tilted to side. I sigh, shaking my head; with a shrug, she follows the Gasman, Iggy, and Nudge toward the line of big-screen televisions, Total at her heels. Fang comes up on my left silently, a slightly bemused look in his eyes.

"Does she not know she's controlling other people's _minds_?" He asks me under his breath, taking a hold of the cart so we were both pushing it and his arm was brushing mine. I glance up at him.

"I don't know. I honestly don't know. I mean, she usually acts like she always has, but other times…" I trail off as the others come back. Gazzy grins at me as he hops onto the front of the cart, looking excited. I don't bother telling him to get off, knowing it was a lost cause.

"Max! Ig- er, Jeff said we could get one of there TVs! Can we? Please, please, _please_?" He begs, bouncing slightly. I shoot Iggy an annoyed look, through it's wasted, because he's not facing me as he walks along side the cart, his fingers skimming along the metal bars to keep up. Besides- it's not like he could see it anyway. Ah, the _joys_ of living with a blind guy… (Sarcasm, people. Sheesh.)

" Sorry Zeph, but we can't, _regardless_ of what Jeff said." Iggy grins, following the cart as we turn down an isle.

"Oh, come _on_, Max- he knew I was just kidding, right Zephyr?" The Gasman's face falls slightly, but he nods, jumping off the cart.

"Yeah, Jeff, I knew you were just kidding." I tousle his hair affectionately, and he makes a face at me. "Max, can Krystal, Ariel, and I go explore? And Jeff?" He adds as Iggy strikes out for his shoulder. I sigh, shooting Fang a brief look. Shrugging with a 'why not' expression, he nods.

"Yeah. Just don't leave the store or anything." They grin.

"Thanks, Fnick." Iggy calls over his shoulder as he follows the other three. Total climbs onto the bottom of the cart, settling down.

"Don't mind me." He declares, falling asleep. I shut my eyes in exasperation briefly, then open them to meet Fang's own dark eyes. Giving me an almost-smile that had recently become his trademark (at least around me), he re-directs the cart toward the middle section where clothes and such are.

"You're letting them get to you again, Max." Fang mutters to me as he picks up a shirt, examining it. I shoot him a wry look, leaning back against one of the tables.

"Shut up F-Nick. You're starting to sound like the Voice." He gets a mock-horrified look on his face, then rolls his eyes, picking up another shirt. "Fang, you _know_ I _hate_ my Voice and its comments. Do you _really_ want to sound like that?" I hiss. He shrugs, not meeting my eyes as he re-folds the shirt he was looking at and picks up a different one.

"You _already_ hate me and my comments, so there _really_ isn't any harm done." He mutters bitterly, moving to another table. I gape at him, feeling like I'd just been punched in the gut.

"Wha- Fang, what the _hell_? How-where did you get _that_? I dislike your comments sometimes, _sure_, and you may get on my nerves occasionally, but I could never, _never_ hate _you_!" I exclaim, my fingers gripping his shoulders and making him look at me. He glances away, and I take his chin in my hand gently, forcing his dark eyes back to mine. "Fang, why would- how could you even _think_ that I hated you?"

"Angel said you thought it." I stare at him uncomprehendingly, a dagger of shock stabbing me through the heart. "She said you thought my comments while you were driving were snide and rude, and that there have been a few other times when you've thought I was infuriating." My breath catches in my throat.

"She misunderstood me. I did think back to when you had made comments while I was driving when _you_ were driving that one day. But, _God_, Fang, _no_. I could _never_ hate you. I lo-" I stop mid-word, disbelief rising in me. Had I almost just said that I _loved_ him too much to hate him? "I need you. You've been my _life support_ for as long as I can remember, and I don't know _what_ I'd do without you." I whisper, feeling myself start to fall apart on the inside. He blinks, something I can't read registering in his eyes, then nods slowly.

"Same here, Max. Same here." I grin in relief, leaning up and brushing a kiss to his cheek quickly before pulling away. And get this- he smiled back (yes, he actually smiled a full fledged smile) and kissed my forehead like he had so long ago at Anne's. Angel and Nudge's shrieks head in our direction, and we jump apart. We both flush, not meeting each other's gaze as we move on, our arms touching again. He leans down.

"By the way, I lo- you, too, Max." He murmurs in my ear. I glance at him in surprise, and he half-grins, moving his hand over mine as he straightens.

"Max, Nick! Zephyr and Jeff are trying to get a bottle of something called, uh-" Nudge looks over to Angel for help.

"Elks-the-hall, or something like that." Angel shrugs, blinking at Fang and me.

"Yeah, and it says you can't drink it until you're 21, but they said they can have some cuz together they're 24, so they can get some, but-"

"Krystal." She stops, looking slightly upset. "They wouldn't be able to buy any alcohol, so don't worry."

"Oh, yeah, that's what it was called!" Nudge grins, taking back off toward where I _assume_ Iggy and the Gasman are. "_Ha_, I told you guys you couldn't do it!" I hear her shout, and I glance at Fang to see him staring at me with a look of amusement. My eyes narrow, and I hit his shoulder gently. He just chuckles, squeezing my hand.

"Max?" I glance down in slight surprise to see Angel still at my side.

"Yeah, An-Ariel?" She smiles up at me sweetly.

"You and Nick should really keep your thoughts down. I heard you guys all the way over where Krystal, Zephyr, and Jeff are." I feel my face burst into flame, and I shoot a swift look at Fang. He doesn't return my gaze, but I can see the corner of his mouth twitching, and amusement is held in the depths of his eyes.

"What ever are you talking about, sweetie?" I ask Angel, my jaw clenching and unclenching slightly. She giggles, hugging me briefly.

"It's okay, Max. I'm happy for you." She skips off as Nudge zips back into my line of vision, Iggy and Gazzy close behind her. I let out a gusty sigh, and Fang chuckles; I turn to glare at him.

"What's so _funny_, _F-_Nick?" He shoots me a bright grin, and I feel my anger melt away. "I hate you."

"Nice to know it's mutual, Max." I let out another sigh, rolling my eyes as he drops a kiss to the top of my head. "What a wonderful way to start the relationship, huh?"

"Shut up, _oh-so-sarcastic-one_."

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_**AN-** Soooo… haha, gotta love pointless fluff, all because of a misunderstanding- or was it? (a misunderstanding, that is) Mwahaha… please review, and I'll give you the 'behind-the-scenes view' (aka how incredibly off-course this ended up) of the story!_


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